| 5 Ways Edward Snowden’s Hack-Proof iPhone Case Could Stop Lurkers Posted: 22 Jul 2016 03:10 PM PDT  Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden gave his lawyers this advice while discussing his plans to flee Hong Kong in 2013. As it turns out, the metal casing of the fridge is one of the few things that can interfere with the spy agency's monitoring abilities, or, for that matter, any hacker's ability to take over a smartphone, a possibility Snowden warned of in an interview with the BBC in 2015. Looking for a more convenient way to protect the devices from intruders, Snowden and hardware expert Andrew "Bunnie" Huang came up with a concept for an iPhone case that would simulate the fridge walls' signal-blocking characteristics.
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| Funeral for slain Baton Rouge police officer draws thousands Posted: 22 Jul 2016 02:58 PM PDT  By Sam Karlin BATON ROUGE, La. (Reuters) - Police officers from across the United States were among several thousand mourners gathered at a church in Louisiana's state capital on Friday for the first of three funerals for policemen killed this week by an Iraq war veteran. Baton Rouge police officer Matthew Gerald, 41, a veteran of the U.S. Marines and U.S. Army who also served in Iraq, had been on the force only a few months before his death on Sunday.
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| Obama denies US involvement in failed Turkey coup Posted: 22 Jul 2016 02:55 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Friday denied prior knowledge or involvement by the U.S. in last week's failed coup attempt in Turkey, saying reports to the contrary are "unequivocally false."
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| UN says IS behind 393 attacks during Ramadan Posted: 22 Jul 2016 02:44 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations counter-terrorism chief says the Islamic State group committed or indirectly inspired at least 393 attacks in 16 countries during the month of Ramadan. |
| Slain Baton Rouge Police Officer and Veteran Mourned at Funeral Posted: 22 Jul 2016 02:30 PM PDT  Matthew Gerald, one of the law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Sunday, was mourned today at his funeral by family, friends and colleagues. His friend Dave Mulkey spoke at today's service, recalling the last text message he received from Gerald.
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| Brazil Muslims back probe of 10 for terror suspicions Posted: 22 Jul 2016 01:37 PM PDT  SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil's Islamic community supports police actions against a group of people suspected of planning attacks during the Olympics as long as the investigations are conducted in a transparent way, a Brazilian Muslim leader said Friday.
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| U.N. authorizes states to help Libya dispose of chemicals Posted: 22 Jul 2016 12:58 PM PDT The United Nations Security Council on Friday authorized U.N. countries to help eliminate Libya's stockpile of chemicals that could be used to develop toxic weapons amid concern they could fall into the hands of militant groups. Libyan authorities told the global chemical weapons watchdog, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), last Saturday that the country's remaining precursor chemicals had been moved to a temporary storage site in the north of the country and asked for help to destroy them outside of Libya. Libya has roughly 700 tonnes of precursor chemicals - known as category two chemical weapons - diplomats said. |
| Colorado mother: Son killed while fighting ISIS in Syria Posted: 22 Jul 2016 12:27 PM PDT  DENVER (AP) — A Colorado man who joined Kurdish forces in their fight against the Islamic State group was killed in combat in Syria, his mother said.
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| Iraq's Karbala votes for return of displaced people Posted: 22 Jul 2016 12:08 PM PDT  Authorities in Iraq's Karbala province have voted for the return of all displaced Iraqis whose home areas have been recaptured from the Islamic State group, they announced on Friday. Millions of people have fled their homes to escape violence in Iraq, but many areas that have been retaken from IS jihadists are still littered with bombs and heavily damaged, making returning difficult. The decision was made "to preserve the security situation in Iraq in general and Karbala province specifically," he said.
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| Internet in Greek migrant camps as important as food, water: aid groups Posted: 22 Jul 2016 09:55 AM PDT  By Lin Taylor LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - One of the first questions aid worker Isaac Kwamy was asked in Greece's camps for refugees and migrants was not whether there was food or water, but whether there was internet access. "Very few of them (migrants) said, 'We are hungry, we need food. "They were literally asking, 'Do you have Wi-fi access and where can we charge our phones?'" As the head of emergency response at NetHope, an alliance of aid groups and companies like Facebook, Microsoft and Cisco that provide technology services during humanitarian crises, Kwamy said the need for connectivity came as no surprise.
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| Nice protests French government call to purge images of Bastille Day attack Posted: 22 Jul 2016 09:12 AM PDT Just over a week after a bus plowed into pedestrians celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, France, in what has since been deemed a terrorist attack, French anti-terror police are requesting that local authorities delete images of the attack. French law enforcement has come under criticism for what some say was an inadequate police presence during Bastille Day celebrations on July 14, when a man identified by police as Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel drove a car through a crowd of revelers. Recommended: More than Bastille, Bonaparte, and brie: Test your knowledge of France with our quiz! |
| Virtual reality could hold the key to treating PTSD in war veterans Posted: 22 Jul 2016 08:54 AM PDT  A crowdfunding campaign wants to build virtual reality tools to help Vietnam War vets cope with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Dr. Albert "Skip" Rizzo explained to Digital Trends how it works.
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| Kosovo man charged with joining terrorist group Posted: 22 Jul 2016 08:45 AM PDT PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo prosecutors say an ethnic Albanian who allegedly fought in Syria has been charged with participating in a terrorist group. |
| AP PHOTOS: Editor selections of the week in the Mideast Posted: 22 Jul 2016 08:41 AM PDT  Across the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan this week, scorching temperatures and regional conflicts touched the lives of people living here.
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| France to supply artillery to Iraqi army Posted: 22 Jul 2016 07:36 AM PDT  France will supply weapons to Iraq to support its fight against the Islamic State group, President Francois Hollande said Friday, but ruled out any troop deployment in the country. "This morning at the defence council, I took the decision as part of the anti-Daesh coalition to make weapons available to Iraqi forces," Hollande said, using another name for IS. An aide to the president said the weaponry would include artillery batteries and that France would also send military advisors to train Iraqi forces in using them.
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| The Latest: Power restored to Incirlik air base in Turkey Posted: 22 Jul 2016 07:18 AM PDT  ISTANBUL (AP) — The latest developments on the situation in Turkey after a failed military coup last week (all times local):
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| Kuwait, Iraq sizzle in 129-degree heat, setting all-time eastern hemisphere record Posted: 22 Jul 2016 06:50 AM PDT  While much of the continental United States is baking in high heat and humidity, there is at least one spot on Earth dealing with far more intense heat. On Thursday and Friday, with a strong area of high pressure parked across the Middle East, high temperatures soared above 125 degrees Fahrenheit, or 51.6 degrees Celsius, in Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and western Iran. In the community of Mitribah, Kuwait, the high temperature rocketed to a record-setting 129.2 degrees Fahrenheit, or 54 degrees Celsius. On Friday, Basra, Iraq, which has a population of more than 1 million, also hit 129.2 degrees Fahrenheit. SEE ALSO: The climate that most of us grew up with is gone for good If the World Meteorological Organization verifies these records, they would become the hottest temperature recorded on Earth outside of Death Valley, California, which holds the title of the hottest temperature on record. This would make the Kuwait and Iraq readings the hottest temperature on record in the eastern hemisphere as well as the hottest on record in Asia. The heat in Mitribah on Thursday looks legit, according to meteorologist Jeff Masters of Weather Underground, since the nearby city of Basra, Iraq, reached a high temperature of 128 degrees Fahrenheit, or 53.4 degrees Celsius, on Thursday as well. The 1913 Death Valley record was 134.1 degrees Fahrenheit, or 56.7 degrees Celsius, and was set on July 10, 1913. According to Weather Underground, there are questions about the accuracy of the Death Valley record, but it still stands as the global benchmark (at least for now). If one were to discount the Death Valley reading entirely, the Basra and Mitribah records would then rank as the hottest temperature on record for the globe. Thursday's Basra reading ranks as the fourth highest temperature ever reliably measured outside of Death Valley, according to weather historians Christopher Burt and Maximiliano Herrera. This historic heat is a sign of things to come due to human-caused climate change. A study published in 2015 found that as global warming continues to boost temperatures and humidity levels, countries bordering the Persian Gulf may become virtually uninhabitable by the end of the century.
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| Commercial power back at Turkish air base used in Islamic State fight Posted: 22 Jul 2016 05:33 AM PDT Commercial electric power was restored on Friday to a Turkish air base used by U.S. forces in the fight against Islamic State, a week after it was interrupted during an attempted military coup against President Tayyip Erdogan. U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, said in a statement that commercial electric power was restored to Incirlik Air Base, and "there is a steady flow of hot food, water and fuel to support our service members and civilians in Turkey." The Turkish base, which is also used by several thousand U.S. personnel, had been operating on generator backup power since July 16. Backup generators remain an option if the base loses commercial power again, the European Command statement said. |
| Libyan forces claim gains in fierce fighting against IS in Sirte Posted: 22 Jul 2016 05:24 AM PDT  Libyan forces said on Friday they had edged further into the centre of Sirte as they seek to recapture the city from Islamic State, following heavy battles until late the previous evening that left dozens dead. Forces aligned with Libya's United Nations-backed government in Tripoli advanced rapidly on Islamic State's Libyan stronghold in May, but have faced lethal resistance from snipers, suicide bombers and mines as they have closed in on the city centre. Sirte had been under the complete control of Islamic State since last year, becoming its most important base outside Syria and Iraq, and its loss would be a major setback for the group.
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| Libyan forces report gains against IS in battle for Sirte Posted: 22 Jul 2016 05:15 AM PDT  Libyan forces said on Friday they had edged further into the center of Sirte as they seek to recapture the city from Islamic State, following heavy fighting until late the previous evening that left dozens dead. Forces aligned with Libya's United Nations-backed government in Tripoli advanced rapidly on the militant group's Libyan stronghold in May, but they have faced resistance from snipers, suicide bombers and mines as they have closed in on the city center. Sirte had been controlled by Islamic State since last year, becoming its most important base outside Syria and Iraq, and its loss would be a major setback for the group.
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| France to send heavy weapons to Iraq: Hollande Posted: 22 Jul 2016 04:36 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande said on Friday France would supply heavy weapons to Iraqi forces as soon as next month and that there were no plans to deploy troops on the ground there and in Syria. France has said it would ramp up efforts to fight Islamic State after an attack in the Riviera city of Nice that killed 84 people last week. (Reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey; Writing by Maya Nikolaeva; Editing by Leigh Thomas)
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| The Latest: Hollande boosting support for fight against IS Posted: 22 Jul 2016 04:17 AM PDT  PARIS (AP) — The Latest on the truck attack in Nice, France (all times local):
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| French President Francois Hollande increasing military help for Iraq to fight Islamic State group, following Nice attack Posted: 22 Jul 2016 04:06 AM PDT PARIS (AP) — French President Francois Hollande increasing military help for Iraq to fight Islamic State group, following Nice attack. |
| Bahrain says dismantles Iran-linked militant cell Posted: 22 Jul 2016 01:16 AM PDT DOHA (Reuters) - Bahrain said on Thursday it had dismantled an Iranian-linked cell plotting attacks on its territory, arresting five suspects after finding bomb-making materials, guns and knives in their houses. The Gulf Arab kingdom has been beset by a growing rift between its Shi'ite Muslim majority and its Sunni rulers. Police said the five men had received military training in Iran and Iraq, according to a statement by Bahrain's interior ministry. There was no immediate comment from Tehran or Baghdad. Bahrain, home to the U.S. ... |
| Mom: Gunman would 'pretty much lose it' on police shootings Posted: 22 Jul 2016 01:07 AM PDT  The mother of the man who shot and killed three law-enforcement officers in Baton Rouge said her son would "pretty much lose it" when he heard about a black man being shot by police in what he considered an unlawful manner.
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| AP FACT CHECK: Trump resurfaces debunked claims in speech Posted: 22 Jul 2016 01:02 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite promising "the truth, and nothing else" in his convention speech, Donald Trump presented the nation with a series of previously debunked claims and some new ones Thursday night — about the U.S. tax burden, the perils facing police, Hillary Clinton's record and more.
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| Oil-rich Kazakhstan shaken by attacks Posted: 22 Jul 2016 12:37 AM PDT  Two multiple-target attacks in as many months have shaken Kazakhstan's reputation for stability and led to fears that home-grown radicalism could be on the rise in the ex-Soviet republic. On any given evening the trendy cafes lining the leafy boulevards of economic hub Almaty teem with chatting students, creative types and business people enjoying the fruits of years of oil-fuelled economic boom. On June 5, four civilians and three soldiers were killed in the western city of Aktobe when assailants attacked gun shops and tried to storm a military base in a bus they had hijacked.
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| Russian wildfires put key climate resource at risk Posted: 22 Jul 2016 12:21 AM PDT  Russia's practice of leaving massive wildfires to burn out of control in sprawling stretches of Siberia puts at risk a key global resource for absorbing climate-warming emissions: its trees. The blazes are consuming millions of hectares of pristine Boreal forests in Russia, which are second only to the world's tropical jungles in capturing planet-warming carbon emissions. Russia's forests annually absorb a net 500 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere, said Anatoly Shvidenko, who spent decades in the Soviet forestry system and served as an expert for the UN's Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC).
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| The Latest: Convention's balloon drop doesn't disappoint Posted: 21 Jul 2016 09:06 PM PDT  CLEVELAND (AP) — The Latest on the Republican National Convention (all times EDT):
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| Text of Donald Trump's speech to the GOP convention Posted: 21 Jul 2016 08:24 PM PDT Text of presidential nominee Donald Trump's speech to the Republican National Convention, as provided in advance by the Trump campaign. |
| The Latest: Trump pledges to protect gays from violence Posted: 21 Jul 2016 08:20 PM PDT  CLEVELAND (AP) — The Latest on the Republican National Convention (all times EDT):
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| The Latest: Trump says Obama dividing US along racial lines Posted: 21 Jul 2016 07:59 PM PDT  CLEVELAND (AP) — The Latest on the Republican National Convention (all times EDT):
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| Canada military to deploy 60 medical personnel to Iraq Posted: 21 Jul 2016 06:43 PM PDT  Canada said its military is set to deploy up to 60 medical staff to Iraq to run a field hospital for the international coalition fighting the Islamic State group. "As part of our ongoing commitment, Canada will soon deploy up to 60 medical personnel who will be leading a medical facility alongside coalition partners in northern Iraq," Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan said in a statement following a meeting in Washington with other coalition members. Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion added: "Canada is proud to be contributing to all military and civilian lines of effort of the coalition.
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| Iraq's domestic security must catch up to military gains, defense minister says Posted: 21 Jul 2016 05:54 PM PDT  Less than 10 percent of Iraqi territory remains in the hands of Islamic State, but battlefield advances have not been matched by better security inside Iraq, the country's defense minister said on Thursday. Iraq is now mounting a campaign to retake Mosul, the de facto IS capital, after recapturing Falluja late last month. "Progress in military performance must be paired with progress on the security file," Defence Minister Khalid al-Obeidi tweeted from Washington before a meeting of defense ministers from the U.S.-led coalition battling the ultra-hardline militants.
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